Joy of Patterns: Using Patterns for Enterprise Development, The

Introduction

This chapter goes through some fundamental building blocks that we need in developing software systems. I will trace the evolution of the implementation modules that we use, utilizing the standardized Unified Modeling Language (UML) as a notation for documenting systems. More than a graphical notation, the UML defines the syntax and semantics to express concepts; thus it is actually a language. It is important that we lay the groundwork so that future chapters can ensure that we are all on the same footing and can use the same terminology to mean the same thing.

First let's look at the major program units as the software development practice has changed. Initially the major unit was simply the “program.” See Figure 3.1. Harder problems ...